According to Stats NZ, in 2024 there were 5,778 accounting firms in New Zealand ranging from global giants to solo operators. With so much choice, how do you know which accountant is right for you?
I can’t answer that definitively, but I can help you understand the landscape and narrow your search to the type of firm that fits your needs. As a director of a boutique accounting firm - Step Ahead Accounting - I’ll freely admit my own bias, but I’ve done my best here to lay out the pros and cons of each type of accounting service as best I can.
Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG make up what’s known as the Big 4. Each office is an individual member of a global network, giving them extraordinary resources and access to expertise. However, that scale and brand power come at a cost, both in terms of fees (often well into the five-figure range) and client experience. Smaller clients are often handed off to junior staff, and much of the work is outsourced to low-cost offshore teams in India or the Philippines. These firms are best suited to listed companies, multinationals, and government projects.
Firms like RSM, BDO, and Baker Tilly Staples Rodway offer a scaled-down version of Big 4 services for less complex clients. The workload is generally more manageable, giving accountants a wider breadth of experience across more clients. These firms strike a good balance for companies that are on the smaller side of large, typically with $33m+ in revenue. However, personalisation can still be inconsistent depending on who’s assigned to your account.
Regional firms are common outside the major centres and provide a wide range of services for SMEs. Quality varies between offices and individual accountants, and many practitioners here lean toward work-life balance over technical specialisation. These firms are often geared toward high-volume compliance and are ideal for clients who just need tax returns done without too much strategy. The spread in pricing, service levels, and quality can be significant, though they generally do most things to a good standard.
Boutique firms - like Step Ahead Accounting - are purpose-built for specific client niches. They typically prioritise fewer, higher-value relationships and clients get direct access to senior practitioners. Often founded by high performers who’ve left larger firms to focus on what they do best, these practices offer deep expertise, especially for business owners and investors. Clients in their sweet spot benefit from proactive advice and peace of mind knowing their work is either completed or closely reviewed by an expert.
Platforms like Xero and MYOB, have democratised accounting and are aimed at empowering sole traders, freelancers, contractors, and side hustles earning under $100k per year. These tools offer solid support for invoicing, GST, and receipts, and they’re great for keeping costs down at the early stages of business.
DIY is a great option if you know what you're doing, but if you don't, it's both the most expensive and time-consuming option.
For companies in the $2m–$5m range, hiring an admin or finance support person who also handles basic bookkeeping is common. Employing a full-time in-house accountant dedicated to financial reporting only starts to make sense once your business is large enough, or has complex financial operations. Even then, external advisors are still needed for structuring, strategy, and IRD-facing matters. Once a company reaches the $33m revenue or $66m asset threshold (the statutory definition of a “large company”), it’s often time to reconsider your entire finance function - including likely hiring someone senior in-house.
It’s easy to assume that more expensive means better, but in accounting, that’s not always the case. Accounting is a service industry, so the person doing your work matters more than the logo on the letterhead. Outsourcing is rampant across the industry, so it's important to know who will actually be doing your work.
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Big 4 firms (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) focus on multinationals and large corporates with vast resources but higher fees. Boutique firms like Step Ahead Accounting focus on niche markets (like SMEs or investors), offering personalized service and direct access to senior experts.
Usually when your business turnover reaches the $2m-$5m mark, or complexity increases significantly. For smaller businesses, outsourcing to a firm is typically more cost-effective.